Gifts That Keep Giving- Part 2

"There's no great loss without some small gain." -Pa Ingalls (Little House on the Prairie)

Piled up on my bed in jammies, we did it. The boys and I finished Little House on the Prairie tonight.

I am convinced that I will never regret all the reading that the boys and I do together. Boys snuggled up to me, twirling my hair, playing with a pillow...doing nothing. Just listening and waiting for the next sketch in the book.

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this is a favorite photo of my Mom In Law, reading in her pool

Joey had a disappointment today. For a nine year old, a big disappointment. We were just heading up to read and he really wanted to tell me about it, but I asked him to wait. Listen to the book and then he and I could talk about it. (Sometimes this boy needs to simmer a little so he can use his words well. Um, so do I. ) So we snuggled up on the bed, he pulled a blanket over his head in grief and I read the final two chapters of our book.

Joe, always a book in hand, on a Canyon hike

I tucked Eli in bed, when I went to the kitchen Joe was waiting for me, "Cup of Tea, please Mom?" We chose our tea and put the water on to boil. Joe looked square at me. "There's no great loss without some small gain." he said. Then he rattled on the bleak gain he saw that he pulled from his loss.

Thank you, Pa Ingalls. Because it sounds better coming from you.

Joe and I sat down and discussed disappointment. We talked about the idea that sometimes the things that we want aren't the best things for us. Sometimes we just don't get what we want and it's just plain disappointing. It was a wonderful opening for good discussion.

Eli & Waldo: quality time

From the coziness, quiet and stillness of reading together to the ideas and discussions that it brings, reading to your kids is a gift that keeps on giving.

A Few of Our Favorite Books:

For the Younger Crowd:

Curious George by H.A. Rey

Little Critter by Mercer Mayer (and all others by Mercer Mayer)

The Cozy Book by Mary Ann Hoberman

I Can't Said the Ant by Polly Cameron

The Tale of Peter Rabbit series by Beatrix Potter

For the Bigger Ones:

The Magic School Bus books

The Magic Tree House books

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books

Encyclopedia Brown books

The Story of the World books

All Books by Holling C. Holling

The Litte House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, of course

Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Oh, I have more but it's getting late. Perhaps I'll return with other favorites. :)

What are your favorite read alouds?

Christmas Gift Ideas....

Meet Natalie, Eli's charge. Happy with her own cabin & spinach snack. She even took a nap in there. :)

This is Clemantine, all ready to go to work.

The Architects, and their happy customers.

A squirrel, birdies, & graces

He's as happy as can be, enjoying the challenge of getting the seed out of my feeder. Though my intent is to draw in the birds, the boys and I truly enjoy the antics of this Fox Squirrel in our yard. There are several that run back and forth on the power lines over our back yard, safe from the lusty jaws of our dog. I have watched these squirrels sit on a stump or fence post and shake their long tails at the dog. I believe that this is a challenge, or maybe even a tease. "Come and get me, go ahead!" They seem to say to Juneau. Taunting little monkeys, they are.

Here you can see he's perched on our feeder, he squirrels down and pulls out the seed for a little morning snack. Fox Squirrels can grow up to 27 inches, their tail is 13 of those 27". They're one of the largest species of squirrels. I have also learned that they tend to mate in December and have babies in February, so we'll be watching for the rituals and signs of nests.

So many people think squirrels are pesky, my husband is not too far from that. Perhaps I can create an affection for them through our studies so he won't develop too much of a desire to rid our yard of them. They can be a bit pesky.

Back to the birds....I set feeders out in the yard and was disappointed to notice that only the squirrels were interested. Then I had a duh moment. I was chatting on the phone upstairs, looking out the windows and saw 5 or 6 birds up in the Sycamores. These are Northern Flicker Woodpeckers, they were poking around under the bark finding bug and spider snacks. I had the epiphany, we have mature trees in our yard....the birds already have home and food here.

Male Northern Flicker.

He is so large, and fun to watch as he pulls pieces of bark away from the tree to find bugs.

Females to match him.

And so this made me realize that there were, indeed, many sparrows living in our line of Cedars, I scooped up a some seed and planted it on the ground next to the Cedars. In no time at all the happy birds discovered the food.

A Dark Eyed Junco (or is it an Oregon Junco?)

...and it got me thinking about Our God, how He loves to pour grace-gifts on us for us to find, gifts to fill both tummy and spirit.

Let's dine friends, on God's Grace in our lives...

Counting God's Blessings...

1. Snow Days
2. Teeny buds on my Christmas Cactus
3. A warm Fire
4. Blog-Inspiration; Ann, Barb, Angie
5. Construction (my bedroom is larger today!)
6. A kind husband to a wife with a cold
7. Alka-Seltzer
8. "Come and snuggle me, Mama" at bedtime
9. Another year to read those 'young' reader books
10. A whole world in our backyard

The Woodsies

A little hard work for some little boys is a good, good thing. I find that it keeps them content.

The results sometime give way to plain old fun. (Do you see two faces in there?)

We walked up and down the streets with a basket in search of treasure.

Basket of booty for boys! We tossed it all out on the table, I grabbed my glue gun and googly eyes. (I make it sound so easy...I had to go to the craft store to get the eyes, mine are packed away somewhere. I found my glue gun in my hubby's workshop. It's never that easy)

Introducing: The Woodsies

below is hockey-playing Woodsy

Nate's little Woodsie family


Eli, minus a shirt. Yes, I KNOW it's November. I know it's cold. I know they should always have shirts on...but they say they're hot! Good grief, here I am in my long johns...I have to stay on top of the shirt thing or they disappear. My boys!!
This trio Joey crafted are an American Indian family, complete with teeny rock papoose.



Our craft/keep your boys happy, interested and busy time is only complete with a little nature dance.

A Friday

Sometimes the the days all run together, streams running into a building river. The river, whose current pulls at me until I feel I'm flying by every moment without a chance to stop. To stop and see color. To see detail.I creep out of bed and wander down to my bright-eyed-boys. I scoop them up, those boys wondering what is just so special about the sunrise. It comes up, it goes down. Every.day.
And maybe that's just it. Up it comes, and each morning I catch a glimpse out of my bedroom window. Then in the bathroom, that sun, it keeps coming. And I look at the mist on the river and think "I really should go down there." But then that stream of duty and things-to-be-done pull me hard and fast spinning down the river.

And I tell those boggled boys that today is different because today we will stop and watch that sun rise over the river. In jammies and sweatshirts we hike on down and discover a perfect beach, a perfect place to sit and linger over coffee....
Directions: Warmly dress boys, add nature and let simmer. Sit and sip coffee and look at every.little.thing around me.




Watch sun rise, see the effects. Play with stones, feel the weight of them in your hand.
See color. Then just try and drag little bold and curious boys home, home from the sunrise. From the moment of the day. I am never, ever sorry for stopping. Never, ever sorry for climbing up to the river bank to look, to listen and love life. Never Sorry.

The Watched Pot Will Someday Boil

It's the task that you hammer away at.

Day after day you water, feed, give light and wait...

wait...

wait...

wait for the little synapses to connect. Wait for that seed you planted to take root and grow fruit.

And most days it feels like waiting for that pot, watching and waiting.

Then one day you wake up and the day feels normal. Climb out of bed and pray for wisdom in the day with a 5 year old wrapped around your legs under a blanket on the couch. Breakfast and books & pages of numbers. A doctor's appointment and stop at the local office store.

Then come home to snuggle up to some reading work. Always start with the littlest student. His work usually takes the least time, and the biggers can work quietly while the little one gets some mama-teach-time. And you open that book and talk about sounds and then it happens.

He reads a word. Mama squeals and bursts into laughter and tickles that sweet 5 year old because he just learned the best tool he'll learn in life. He read a word. His first word was "at." And maybe he was a little more excited about "ax" because that's a word that means something to a boy.

And more importantly, he learned that learning is a delight. It's fun. It's important. And sometimes you get a squeal out of your teacher.

Then the day shifts into one of those days where the water is boiling and I can't imagine any job that's more important, any job that I'd rather be doing today.

And tomorrow, when I'll be watching the pot again.

...post script~ I wrote this post a week ago. From his first time reading on, each time he sounds out a new road, Eli cries, "Tickle me Mama! Tickle me!!"

We have recently taken up "Teaching Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." It's been very helpful for my younger boys, and includes "games" & short lessons that keep our work fun.

The Echo of Summer

Sometimes school is just huge, tangled pile.

When you think of school, say elementary school, do you think of neat rows of desks, kids filing down the hall in order, pencils with the names of their owners printed neatly on, and a tidy little box of crayons smelling like the first day of school? I might say the teachers' glimpse would say hers is a day that is a pile, as well.

But let me say it again. Somedays school, it's just a fantastic tangled pile of kids, apple slices, books, paper, frustration, pencils without erasers, explantations, noise & numbers. It's not neat. Hardly ever, ever does our lesson go according to plan when the phone rings three times in the middle of a book and paper cuts and strewn out bandaids sit in a puddle on the floor next to the table and little boys stand on their heads because that's what little boys like to do during math.

Meanwhile the sun is screaming in the windows and the middle one hears it beckoning the most loudly and pleads to go out and discover something that waits and calls to him over even the school. So after 20 more "please put all four on the floor, son" and 12 times of practicing my lamaze that never came in too handy until today I say;

"Okay" and I scoop up the books in a big pile and grab my Handbook of Nature Study, a towel, a camera. Some water and sunscreen and a long, long leash for my doggie and I. I slip on my salt water sandals because they work in the river water too.

We drive to the river bank and kick off shoes and run full force down, down to the water where the river has been waiting. The boys run and kick and push their whole bodies down into the water.
The water washes away all the silliness & antsy-ness that comes from too much recirculated air. We spy a snake and capture him for an attempt at identification. The boys choose their favorite rock and then leave it right where they found it, or toss it as far as they can to be swept downstream. I open that big fat book and read about garter snakes and water snakes. The boys dig holes and pile rocks while we determine that this snake is a water loving garter snake. The river, oh it's cool on my feet and ankles and I wish I could stay all day.

But there is still work to be done at home. Lunch break, for little boys who must complete their job of school work because this is their job while they are young. So now it's back to the table and books and end-of-summer-sighs. Back to the pile.

But we will keep our ears open wide for the call of the river again....

Home

This is the house we'll be moving into in 7 days or so. I can't tell you how excited I am! It's such a sweet little home, this photo is one that I took while we were looking at it so it's not at the best angle, but I wanted to share anyhow.

This is a picture of my favorite room in the house (so far.) I can't wait to get inside and put our chairs and rugs, houseplants...

This home is one of many in this style. It was built in 1944, during WWII to house workers & military that came to work locally. The houses are called alphabet houses because there are about 26 designs that all were built within two or three years, houses all over town. Our house was originally a duplex, has been converted into a single family home. This adds to the charm for me, the symmetry of the home is wonderful. There are even still two basements, one finished, one unfinished.
This is our "A" house. That's all for now, I'm sure you'll get more photos later in the month. :) Thanks for sharing in my joy.

our homeschool on sick days

When you've got a sicko household, the days can run into each other. One kiddo feels better & the next one is down, on the couch, sniffing and moaning. Mom and dad stumble around bleary-eyed hoping they don't catch the junk.

And we've been lying around for 2, maybe 3 days watching cartoons, napping, snoozing in the park and drinking, drinking, hydrating. Laundry rolling again to be sure we have sanitized towels and sheets 'cause it makes this mama feel like she can do something to help comfort her family...

So today is a back-to-school day and I'll take a shower because I feel better lying around nursing this sore throat if I'm clean. Then I'll pull up some books and do what I can with the healthy, busy-minded kiddos, I'll turn off that offensive noise that comes at me from the blaring-box-in-the-corner. I'll pick up Farmer Boy, Almanzo has been waiting for us for such a day as this to breathe the corn fields and county fair into our apartment of little boys stranded inside.

I'll just do my best. Perhaps if I can muster it I'll haul all these boys and a pouting puppy to the river or dog park to let that puppy run off his crazies. I'm quietly thanking him for his mellow temperament this morning, grateful he's content to run outside to sniff and go in two minutes' time.

Doing my best, taking pause because life demands it, and grateful we can do what we can, no one has to be pushed onto a school bus feeling even 65%.

Off to the shower....

Monday's Favorite

This is a favorite way to write scattered thoughts, spinning them into a patchwork colorful as the end of summer season. I haven't written much in the busy recent past, I hope you can somehow pull together all that life is comprised of for us just now...
For Today...

Outside my window... summer is drifting off with the sunset, and I wait with anticipation for autumn, and all the rhythm that comes with: school, classes, bedtimes and routines.
I am thinking...that this is the birth of a new season. We are wiggling into a new life here, and I do think it's going to be wonderful.
I am thankful for...a home. There is much to catch up on, but I must tell you that we found a lovely little home. In a terrible renting market, we went for a purchase and succeeded; I am going to be moving into the most lovely little home in a few short weeks. I'm exceedingly blessed, I am. I can't wait to share with you...
From the learning rooms...we're still sneaking up to full school. Math, penmanship, language arts...and next week we begin CC! Horray!
From the kitchen...cereal boxes and plants litter the counterspace of this teeny apartment kitchen. I will make a birthday cake tomorrow for my sweet-five-Elijah-Jonathan. In some sort of a casserole dish, I suppose.
I am wearing...a sweatshirt. Not because hubby has the a/c cranked up. Because it's coolish and cozy. Shorts, too, no worries.
I am creating...comfortable living in this apartment, and space else where when the walls close in. Structure to our temporary-ish chaotic life.
I am going...to fall asleep grateful, again. I'll also share with you some sweet photos of my Eli.
I am reading...hm, just finished "So Cold The River" and will pick up another that I found at the library this week. I am reading The Core, My Upmost (of course), Proverbs, Psalms & Luke.
I am hoping...so,so much hope. For our home and yard & school. Mostly I'm hoping that God will work in me, to love Him more, to become His more and gain His sight.
I am hearing...Laura Sullivan with Chaco Canyon & the "whiiiishhh" of Eli playing in the tub.
Around the house...Doggy sleeps, laundry waits, ironing calls, oranges ripen, little boy gets clean, legos decorate, books are stacked and all is calm- just now.
One of my favorite things...the changing of the seasons. And seeing God's little treats for us.
A few plans for the rest of the week: CC meeting, library trip, taking the boys to a new spot I found on the river, where they can collect all the pretty stones they like. Awanas, Birthday cake & wishes. Doctor's appointment, and school.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...For Today...

The cutest baby of 2005, no doubt. Go ahead, try me!!